Wolves
by Burgie
Summary: It's a full moon in Night Vale and the wolves are out looking for some poor innocent to bite. Oneshot, Cecilos.


"The moon cycle tonight forecasts a full moon. As you well know, listeners, a full moon brings with it the roaming packs of wolves which are very dangerous and are not to be approached. Do not let them bite you, or next full moon you might just find yourself changing."

Cecil's warning was not heeded or even heard by the one man who really should have heard it. Carlos had seen the pack of wolves and decided to investigate, feeling that there was something a little off about them. Maybe it was the way that they had suddenly appeared around sunset, or maybe it had something to do with their size.

The wolves were much bigger up close. One of them, seemingly the alpha male with a dark brown coat and darker ruff, watched him approach. Its silver eyes gleamed with intelligence, as well as some other emotion that was either anger or lust. Maybe it was a mix of both? Either way, it was quite unsettling to see on a wolf.

"Uh… hi there, wolf. I'm Carlos and I'm here to, uh, take some blood to see if you're really a wolf or something else. It won't hurt too much," he greeted the wolf tentatively, producing a knife and vial. He would have preferred to have had a needle to take the blood, but there was a ban on using them for some insane reason that probably made a lot of sense to the Council. Upon seeing the knife, however, the wolf growled and lunged at the scientist. Its jaws punctured his skin and clamped around his wrist, vicious growls erupting from deep in its throat.

Carlos wasn't much of a fighter but, with his blood dripping onto the ground and into the wolf's maw, he had to do all he could so punched the wolf wherever he could as hard as he could. He only managed to enrage the animal.

"Get back," an eerily-familiar omniscient voice commanded. There was a bite to the tone, as well as an undercurrent of power. "Take your jaws from around his wrist and get as far away from here as possible." Maybe Carlos' first guess had been wrong- maybe this wolf wasn't the alpha after all. Maybe it was… but no, Cecil couldn't possibly be a wolf.

Whatever it was, the wolf released Carlos' wrist and barked a command for the rest of its pack to follow it back out of town. The scientist returned to his home, disappointed at not having got any blood to test but also knowing that he had to clean and dress his wound.

The wound began to throb slightly as time went on, but Carlos figured that it was just due to the pain setting in. He originally thought that he'd need stitches, but some butterfly strips did the job well enough.

Cecil's radio show ended and, within minutes, he was in Carlos' home.

"Carlos, what happened out there with the wolves?" he asked after running in, hugging him, and kissing him firmly.

"I went to take some blood from the wolves to run tests on it. They didn't look like normal wolves and I was curious," Carlos explained, gesturing to his bandaged wrist to finish the story.

"That's because they're not normal wolves," Cecil told him seriously, taking his injured wrist and looking at it nervously. "Didn't you hear my warning on the radio?"

"No," Carlos frowned. "I was too busy with my work. I would've taken my portable radio with me but I thought I'd only be a few minutes."

"Well, you're lucky I could save you this time," Cecil shrugged. "Next time, though, take a radio with you anyway."

"I will, don't worry about that," Carlos chuckled. "How did you manage that, anyway? It was like you're their alpha."

"I can be very persuasive when I want to be," Cecil informed him. "I think it has something to do with mind control but I wouldn't know. I've always been able to do it."

"Well, thanks," Carlos thanked him gratefully, and kissed his cheek. "You really saved my life back there I think."

"I fear that the damage has been done," Cecil worried. "The wolf bit you, didn't it?"

"Yes," Carlos nodded. "I cleaned it and dressed it, though, so it should be fine, right?"

"We'll see," the radio host replied with a shrug. "If you start to feel odd around the next full moon, like a strong urge to howl or aching bones or a high fever- actually, all of those- call me. Okay?"

"Okay but... why? Should I be concerned?" Carlos wondered, confused.

"Only if what I said happens," Cecil assured him. "For now, though, you're fine."

The days and weeks passed peacefully enough. Carlos' wound healed without any lingering signs of infection, although it left a silver-toned scar. He began to take a radio with him at all times now, especially when he went out to investigate strange occurrences.

On the morning of the next full moon, Carlos awoke feeling odd as Cecil had worried that he would. His bones ached and he awoke with a slight fever, though it wasn't enough to put him off his work.

"I'd like to remind you again, listeners, to be very wary of the roaming wolf packs. Last time, my brave and intelligent scientist Carlos found out the hard way that the wolves do bite."

Carlos chuckled at his own error even as his wrist throbbed in remembered pain. He idly ran his fingers over the messy scar and jerked his hand back at the heat of it. Worrying his bottom lip in his teeth, he took a few fever-reducing tablets and then set out to find out more about whatever it was that was causing the animals to go crazy.

There was a dog staring at something invisible a few inches above it. It growled softly before beginning to bark, a shrill yapping that was somehow painful to Carlos' ears.

"Here, puppy," he called gently, crouching down and patting his knees. "Come here, I just want to pet you." The dog took one look at him, sniffed the air, and then took off yelping. That had sure been strange.

The exact same thing happened with two cats, a few dogs, and several pet rodents.

"What is going on?" Carlos muttered, rubbing his jaw in annoyance. It was beginning to hurt, as was every other bone in his body. The fever was back, too. There was no way of knowing for sure how long it had been since he'd last taken the pills, so the only solution to the pain and fever was to try to sleep it off. He still wanted to figure out just what was going on with these animals, but for some reason they were all afraid of him. For once, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

Carlos fell asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow. His fever-addled mind filled his dreams with images of wolves, moons, water, and small animals running away from him. As he dreamed, there was an ever-present pain in his mind. The pain built until finally it woke him. It was so intense that he nearly cried out from it, but he managed to limit it to a grunt. There was also the strange urge to howl.

"Cecil," he managed to say through his pain as he held his phone to his ear. "Cecil, you said to call you if I felt anything odd. It's exactly what you said it would be- the pain, the fever, the- argh- urge to howl." It had reached Cecil's voicemail, but hopefully it wouldn't be long before he reached a break and could check it. He switched his radio back on and laid down on the bed, trying to relax from Cecil's smooth voice.

At last, his phone rang with Cecil's ringtone and Carlos picked it up gratefully, though it hurt to hold it.

"Carlos, I tried to call you back a few times but station management growled every time I reached for my phone. I wish I could come see you now but they won't let me go until I finish my broadcast," Cecil told him as soon as he picked up the phone.

"I don't suppose there's any way you can- nngh- finish it early, i-is there?" Carlos asked through grit teeth.

"Sorry," Cecil apologised, sounding just as pained as Carlos felt. "I'm so sorry, Carlos, but you'll just have to wait until I fin- hold on, station management just slid an envelope under their door." There was the sound of footsteps, then some rustling, and then Cecil was back. "Oh, thank you station management, they said that I can finish my broadcast before moonrise. I'll see you sooner than I hoped. Hang in there, Carlos, I know you can." Carlos had to smile despite the pain.

He let the phone fall out of his hand, glad that it ended the call as soon as Cecil did, and tried to 'hang in there' as Cecil had asked him to. Why was moonrise so important? Why the growing urge to howl? Why the near-excruciating pain in his knees and spine?

By the time Cecil finally finished his broadcast, Carlos was in too much pain to even turn the radio off so had to listen to the sounds of rustling undergrowth. He couldn't even look up when Cecil walked in the door.

"Oh no, Carlos," Cecil gasped, running over to kneel beside his bed. "I really hoped that the curse wouldn't infect you. Why don't things like this happen to Steve Carlsberg?"

"Because Steve Carlsberg is bad enough already," Carlos responded. Cecil didn't laugh but he did smile.

"It's still about half an hour before moonrise so I have time to tell you everything about what's happening," Cecil continued, glancing out the window at the darkening street.

"Why is moonrise so important?" Carlos asked.

"I'll explain it to you but you have to promise not to freak out," Cecil assured him.

"Can I get all scientific about it?" the scientist replied with as much of a smile as he could muster.

"Of course," Cecil laughed, and took a seat on the bed, then turned so that he was facing Carlos. "Anyway, you remember how I said to not let the wolves bite you?"

"No," Carlos responded. "I didn't listen to that part of the broadcast, remember?"

"Right, okay, I remember. Anyway, the reason I said not to let them bite you is because they carry a kind of curse. If a wolf bites someone, they'll change into a wolf on the next full moon," Cecil explained.

"So you're saying that this place has werewolves," Carlos summed up, "And I got bitten by one."

"Yes," Cecil confirmed. "That's what's happening tonight. I know about this because one of the interns got bitten a few years ago and told me about the pain and the fever and the urge to howl."

"So when the full moon rises, I'll turn into a wolf?" Carlos asked, his pain almost forgotten in his fear and curiosity. "Is that also why the animals ran away from me earlier?"

"No, they've been doing that to anyone," the radio host said of the animals, "But you will turn into a wolf as soon as the moon rises. And it'll hurt and you'll be tempted to kill everyone in sight but that's why I'm here."

"And why won't I kill you? Because of your mind control thing?" Carlos asked.

"And because the wolf will recognise me as your mate," Cecil nodded. Carlos felt a little thrill at that, but it was quickly overshadowed by shooting pains up his legs. He groaned loudly, clenching his fists against the pain but then unclenching them when that only increased the pain.

"Sometimes the moon rises early," he managed to get out between grunts of pain. And then the pain, which had previously been at a near-tolerable level, shot up to be so bad that he almost blacked out.

"Don't fight the transformation," Cecil's gentle voice guided him. "If you fight it, it'll only hurt worse. Let it happen. Let your limbs change shape, let your hands and feet change shape, let your face change. Just let it happen. It'll be okay." The pain was still very bad, especially when his knees suddenly changed direction, but Cecil's words stopped it from becoming too much to bear.

His face changed into a snout as his ears moved up on top of his head and his teeth became more wolf-like in shape. His tail appeared, followed quickly by fur the same deep brown as his hair, complete with a silver ruff. His body was the last to change, becoming sleeker and more wolf-like, and finally the pain disappeared completely.

Carlos opened his now-silver eyes and looked around, aware of the need to hunt. To kill. To feed. His gaze landed on Cecil, who seemed to be glowing like moonlight on pale ground. Mate, his mind identified, and continued searching around for food.

"Carlos," Cecil called gently, stroking the wolf's fur. "I'll take you out to feed so your wolf doesn't go crazy with hunger. Come on." He got up and Carlos followed, trotting along at his side obediently. They walked through the streets and then out of town until finally Carlos picked up the scent of a rabbit. His hunger took over and he seemed to race after the small rabbit like he'd been hunting his whole life. He pounced on the poor, defenceless creature and, when it was still beneath his paws, he raised his head to the sky and howled at the moon.

After feeding, Carlos returned to Cecil and pressed against his leg. He was ready to go home.

The night passed in a blur of being spoken to by Cecil and not being able to speak back. It felt good to have Cecil stroking his fur, that was for certain. And when the sun finally rose, the pain set in once again. Only this time, it was expected so didn't hurt as much. Even the transformation back to human wasn't that bad.

"Thank you for looking after me," Carlos said gratefully to his boyfriend once he was able to speak again. His clothes had torn off during his initial transformation so he lay naked in bed beside his lover, but that wasn't all that different to waking up beside him any other morning.

"It was for you and the town," Cecil informed him with a smile. "You make a beautiful wolf, by the way."

"You'd find me beautiful even if I was wrist-deep in viscera," Carlos scoffed, but he appreciated the compliment all the same.

"Even with blood around your mouth and neck, you're still the most perfect human in this town," Cecil added. "That was a hint, too. You still have blood around your mouth and neck."

"Of course I do," Carlos sighed, and got up to get some clothes and head into his bathroom. He stopped at the doorway and smiled back at Cecil. "You can join me if you want." Cecil didn't need telling twice.


End file.
